Businesses are continually striving to improve their profitability. Increasing revenues is the name of the game in order to accomplish so. Sales, of course, are the only way to generate revenue. A sales invoice must, nevertheless, be delivered to the customer in order to complete the sale of any product. It functions as a bill for the customer, informing him of the things he intends to acquire, the quantity, and the associated expenses. The customer can examine what he is buying, how many units he is buying, the price per unit, the price for the lot, the taxes associated with the purchase, and the overall cost that he will have to pay to finally receive the goods he has ordered and receive the official receipt closing the transaction by looking at the sales invoice.
In most cases, invoices are prepared, written, and printed using bespoke software. A lot of the time, the program is tied to an inventory system. Some firms, particularly those in the dark ages, prefer to prepare sales invoices by hand. If this is the situation with your company, you will need a step-by-step tutorial to help you construct your own sales invoice. This is the easy-to-follow guide.
- Make your letterhead. While a handwritten sales invoice is acceptable, it is preferable to do so online. Use a standard word processor, such as Microsoft Office. To make your letterhead, start with a blank document and use the first two lines at the top of the page. The firm emblem and name are shown at the top of the page in a sizeable typeface. You can enter a.jpg version of the logo and name into the document if you have one. Insert your company’s information below it, notably the business address and contact information.
- Make a note of the invoice number. You should assign a number to each invoice you make in order to distinguish it from the others. This number should be in the top right corner, beneath the letterhead. This will allow you to track invoices more simply in the future.
- Fill in the client’s information. Return to the left side of the screen and begin encoding the client’s information, starting with his name, address, phone number, and order number (if necessary).
- Fill in the details of the sale. Add a table with around four columns underneath the client’s information. The name, kind, and description of the product to be purchased will go in the first column. The price per unit of that product should be listed in the second column. The quantity of each product specified is indicated in the third column. The last column is for the product’s sub total cost, which is related to the quantity and price per unit. Below that, there should be a single row stating the total charge for the transaction, which should include all taxes related with it.
If your inventory system requires each product to be coded, make sure those codes are also included in the product description field.
The last section of the sales invoice is a section for the client to sign as well as the authorized representative of the business to approve the transaction and legitimize the invoice. Wait for the client to settle the charges after printing and submitting the invoice to him. Give him a receipt along with the items he just bought when he finishes paying. Keep the sales invoice for future reference.